When Nehru did not allow Ambedkar to erect a government memorial: in the past

Last update:December 19, 2024, 08:58 IST

Sources within the BJP point to books and documents to suggest that it is the Congress party that has been historically at odds with Ambedkar and his legacy.

BJP insiders refer to another book ‘Letter to the Chief Minister’ in which a letter dated June 18, 1959 suggests that Nehru was not comfortable with the idea of ​​a government memorial for Ambedkar.

India witnessed an aggressive Mallikarjun Kharge and a combative Amit Shah against a man whose legacy is much sought after by both the BJP and the Congress – BR Ambedkar. After Congress leader Kharge claimed that Shah had disrespected Ambedkar, the Union Home Minister held a counter press conference with a battery of Union ministers, calling his statement of “twisted and distorted by Congress.” “I come from a party that can never disrespect Ambedkar. » Shah fired back. In a rare move, no less, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the Congress head on on the issue, learning lessons from the past to not allow a ‘false narrative’ to take root that cost the BJP dearly in the elections of Lok Sabha in 2024.

But today, sources within the BJP are pointing to books and documents to suggest that it is the Congress party that is historically at odds with Ambedkar and his legacy.

NEHRU DID NOT ALLOW AMBEDKAR GOVERNMENT MEMORIAL

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book “Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru” (Second Series), Volume 16, Part 2, himself reveals a letter between him and BC Roy on which BJP insiders are now drawing attention. attention in light of the current dispute. After BC Roy informed Nehru that Ambedkar had decided to resign from the cabinet, Nehru calmly replied to Roy: “Ambedkar’s departure does not weaken the Cabinet…” Here, India’s first Prime Minister Nehru was talking about ‘a man who is known as the father of the Indian Constitution – and now, whose legacy the Congress party is trying to appropriate politically for its own.

In the same book, Ambedkar claimed that he was not satisfied with the response of the then Pandit Nehru-led government to the concerns of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. He was particularly unhappy at being left out of key committees relating to foreign affairs or defence, insinuating that the government of the day did not consider him sufficiently fit to sit on them. All this led to his resignation which was not stopped by Nehru.

BJP insiders refer to another book ‘Letter to the Chief Minister’ in which a letter dated June 18, 1959 suggests that Nehru was not comfortable with the idea of ​​a government memorial for Ambedkar after such requests multiplied after his death. He was writing a letter to a mayor.

BJP sources liken it to efforts like ‘every teerth’ – five places linked to Ambedkar as the BJP-ruled Center has developed into tourist destinations. A memorial in his hometown in Madhya Pradesh, the place in London where he studied, in Nagpur where he meditated, in Delhi where he undertook Mahaparinirvan and finally in Mumbai where he breathed his last.

The BJP was quick to point out that it was its government which announced November 26 as ‘Constitution Day’ or how Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the national memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in 2018 at Mahaparinirvan Sthal, which , according to the BJP, was retained by the Congress-led UPA regime. for ten years.

NEHRU CAMPAIGNED AGAINST AMBEDKAR

“During the discussion, it was proven that the Congress is disrespecting BR Ambedkar. The Congress tried its best to beat BR Ambedkar in the elections,” Shah told Parliament. He was referring to two instances: 1952 and 1954, when Congress candidates defeated Ambedkar. In 1951-52, in the first elections generals in India, Ambedkar, for whom While the Congress held a press conference and accused the BJP of disrespect, it fielded a candidate in Bombay North Central to defeat the same Ambedkar who contested in within his Federation of Scheduled Castes party Congress fielded Kajrolkar to defeat Ambedkar, who the BJP claims was awarded the Padma Bhushan award who himself campaigned against Ambedkar, BJP sources insist.

In the next by-election in 1954, in the Bhandara region of Maharashtra, the Congress again deployed all its forces to defeat Ambedkar and prevent him from entering the Indian Parliament. “This is the respect the Congress has for Ambedkar. They should apologize to all Dalits in India,” a BJP source said.

If not all, the Congress has successively refused to award the Bharat Ratna – India’s highest civilian honor – to Ambedkar. BJP cites Nehru gave himself Bharat Ratna in 1955 while his daughter Indira Gandhi followed suit in 1971. Even Kajrolkar, who defeated Ambedkar, received a Padma award in 1970. “Forget the Padma award, the Congress n didn’t even allow his oil painting. in Parliament. It was only in 1990, when the Congress government was no longer in power and a BJP-backed government was at the Centre, that Ambedkar finally got Bharat Ratna,” a BJP source said.

The source also pointed out the stark contrast between Nehru’s 100th birthday celebration and Ambedkar’s.