BJP GOVT MOVE TO USE FULL NAME OF THE FATHER OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION IS SEEN AS AN ATTEMPT TO POLARISE DALITS
Ghazanfar Abbas | Caravan Daily
LUCKNOW — Several social activists and Dalit intellectuals have slammed Uttar Pradesh’s BJP government over its order to use the full name of Dalit icon and social reformer Dr BR Ambedkar for official purposes with “Ramji” as the middle name. They termed the order an “electoral gimmick” and part of “Hindutva politics” being played by the BJP to gain political mileage ahead of crucial Assembly elections across India and the 2019 General Elections.
“On the one hand, the BJP has been suppressing the voices raised for the Ambedkar and Dalit cause and on the other hand they want to show to the people that they have done something by giving an order to use full name of Dr Ambedkar for official purposes. In view of the 2019 General Elections, this is just an electoral gimmick to polarise the Dalit voters. Basically it is part of the BJP’s Hindutva agenda based on Manuvadi-Brahminical ideology,” eminent social activist and author Subhash Gatade asserted, speaking to Caravan Daily.
Citing the surge in attacks and atrocities against the Dalits in UP and across the country, Gatade said, “See we all know how in the last four years of the BJP rule, atrocities against Dalits have increased. There have been numerous incidents like the public flogging of Dalilts in Una, Gujarat in July 2016, the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula (inside Hyderabad central university in January 2016), Saharanpur violence where houses of Dalits were burnt in May, 2017 and the recent Bhima-Koregaon (Maharashtra) violence against Dalits in January this year in which prime accused is an RSS man who has not been arrested yet.”
Also read: Yogi Govt Adds ‘Ramji’ in Ambedkar’s Name
“Besides, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has been put behind the bars under the National Security Act (NSA) for no reasons. Recently the statues of Dr Ambedkar were vandalised by right wing outfits in UP itself but no legal action has been taken by the BJP government of Yogi Adityanath,” he questioned.
Ram Kumar, Convener, Dynamic Action Group of various Dalit organsations in Lucknow offered the same view over the order, “BJP is just focused on polarising the Dalit voters. To say that it is “correcting” Dr Ambedkar’s name is a part of its ‘Hindutva politics’.”
“If the BJP is really concerned about Dr Ambedkar then why not speak up over the dilution SC/ST Act by Supreme Court?” he demanded.
“People are aware of their politics that’s why the BJP lost Gorkhpur and Phulpur by-elections recently,” he maintained.
Ashok Bharti, founder of National Confederation of Dalit Adivasi Organisations (NACDOR) reasoned that since “Ramji” was already the middle name of Dr Ambedkar and is mentioned as such in the Constitution of India, the BJP is trying to fool the people.
Taking a jibe against the BJP, Bharti said, “Actually, the BJP leaders who never read about Dr Ambedkar just got to know that his full was name was Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. So, through this politically motivated order they just want to fool the people saying Dr Ambedkar’s incorrect or incomplete name had been used so far which it has corrected. While the truth is that they are afraid of Dr Ambedkar’s name.”
UP’s BJP government on Wednesday night ordered to use the full name of Dr BR Ambedkar with ‘Ramji’ as the middle name in official records. Passing the order on Governor Ram Naik’s recommendation, the state government has directed all government departments along with the High Court benches in Lucknow and Allahabad to replace ‘Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’ with ‘Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’ in all documents and records.
Jitendra Kumar, Principal Secretary, General Administration Department of Uttar Pradesh government has directed that Ambedkar’s “corrected name” be used in records and documents related to the government.
