Why did we need independence from British rule? For India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka (not part of British India), this question is utmost important. There are hundreds of incidents and causes to incite feelings against British rule. But no doubt that many people and classes were also beneficiaries of the imperialist power. The top beneficiaries were higher classes. The least were the deprived classes. When the top beneficiaries were happy even with dominion status, the question came in a meeting of a federation of deprived classes, chaired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
Dr. Ambedkar showed his patriotism and sacrifice for his country, including all above countries which were under British rule as India at that period. He said that, though, it is true that we as deprived classes have gained the minimum means of life which were not available to us due to the caste system. But we should not forget that we also have responsibility towards our nation. Further he gave the figure for the number of people who died due to famine during British rule. Further he said that there were enough grains, but the British exported leaving millions to die every year. And the total number of the people who died in the previous century was higher than the people who died in the two world wars. For this, he, while accepting that the British gave some benefit to them, but at the same time, keeping the welfare of his country and the people of his country, told the federation that there should be a complete independence from British rule. Same thing he said at the first Round table conference in London in 1930.
What do we get from this information? Firstly, it is a reply to the people who think that Dr. Ambedkar allied with the British. The above incidents show that when the question of his country and its masses came, he kept the welfare of his country and his countrymen over a class of people, however much they were deprived. Secondly, it is a framework to build India. That we must keep the interest of our country and our people above any other interest. No class of people or no person is above the country. Our utmost goal is the welfare of the masses. Thirdly, we should make our country self reliant. And to make ourselves self-reliant we need to exercise a certain power to control all the means of education, production and distribution of goods and services.
On this independence day, these are the lessons we must learn to build our future. We are custodians of our country, its people and its future. We can’t be plunderers. Every growth of our country must reach every person equally. We are a single unit of one nation and not fragmented parts. Learning from the past shows that our destiny is in our own hands.
This inspiring episode from our history when the most deprived people of this country stood for the welfare of all their countrymen and the vision of Dr. Ambedkar reveals the importance of independence. It gives us not only an occasion to cherish our country, but also to realise the sacrifices our ancestors have made to reach an independent status. We the people of India must realize the importance of our freedom and work on the framework set by such pioneers like Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
By Nikhil Sablania (The author is a writer and filmmaker)
