At Chaitya Bhoomi near Dadar Chowpatty in Mumbai, overlooking the Arabian Sea, there is a continuous stream of visitors in and out of the B R Ambedkar memorial on a bright summer day earlier this week. Holding colourful flowers topped with blue candles, men, women and children kneel before Ambedkar’s bust with folded hands, each lighting a candle as a mark of respect to the architect of the Indian Constitution.
A visit to Chaitya Bhoomi – where Ambedkar’s last rites were performed after his death in 1956 – is incomplete without a halt at the makeshift stalls packed with books written by Ambedkar.
Harshala Sakhre, a 15-year-old who completed her Class 10 board exam this year, stopped at one such stall to buy a copy of the Constitution. Presenting a copy of the Constitution on occasions like weddings or birthdays is becoming a trend among the Dalit community in Maharashtra.
Accompanied by her parents, who chose to celebrate their wedding anniversary by paying a visit to Chaitya Bhoomi, Harshala’s father Ganesh, a self-employed decorator, says, “The current debate on the Constitution has triggered greater curiosity and awareness among the generation next. They want to read and know the laws.”
Chaitya Bhoomi, where Dr Ambedkar’s last rites were performed after his death in 1956. (Express)
While acknowledging apprehensions in the Dalit community over the “threat” to the Constitution, Ganesh says, “Is it so easy to replace the Constitution? Will they be able to justify the changes?”
He is referring to the heat being generated over the Constitution in the campaigning by the ruling BJP as well as the Opposition INDIA alliance for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has maintained in his speeches at poll rallies that the Constitution is sacrosanct and will not be changed, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders have claimed that the BJP with a large majority in Parliament would be a “threat” to the Constitution.
With both camps engaged in a heated debate, Dalits across Maharashtra are reaffirming their resolve to safeguard the Constitution by paying their tributes at the Ambedkar memorials among other things. In Ambedkar, they see an icon who gave them their identity and dignity.
Karan Kedar, who inherited a five-decade-old book stall from his family, says, “The Constitution is the soul of democracy.” He says he fears those trying to undermine the Constitution and replace it with Manusmriti are “pushing India 1,000 years back”.
The ongoing debate, along with instances of atrocities against Dalits across the country, has not gone unnoticed. But with Dalit organisations fragmented, the community has been facing a leadership challenge for several decades.
According to the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 13% of the population in Maharashtra. The community is broadly divided into Mahars (neo-Buddhists), who account for 57% of all Dalits, Matangs (20%) and Chamars (17%).
Dalits are represented in the state mainly by two parties – the Republican Party of India (Athawale) or RPI(A) led by Union minister Ramdas Athawale, and the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) led by Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar.
While Athawale claims to have the support of over 50% of Dalits, the VBA claims to represent large sections of Dalits, tribals and OBCs. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the VBA polled 6.75% of the state’s total votes, which cut into the Congress-NCP combine’s vote share.
In 2014, when the RPI(A) allied with the BJP, the move took many within the party by surprise. At the time, Athawale had argued that the new generation of Dalits were open to political experimentation. Ten years on, Athawale has been tasked by the BJP-led NDA with holding public meetings and rallies to assuage Dalits over the Constitution issue. On Wednesday, he lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Rahul Gandhi over his attack on the BJP in the row.
Arjun Dangle, a prominent Dalit writer, says while Dalits are united on the Constitution issue, other factors like unemployment could also lead to a consolidation against the ruling party. “Dalits have a strong sense of right and wrong when it comes to their core agenda. There is a strong undercurrent within the community against the BJP. There is anger and a sense of betrayal,” Dangle said.
Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, one of the oldest slums in Mumbai and largest Dalit colonies in Maharashtra, in Ghatkopar. (Express)
In Ghatkopar’s Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, one of Mumbai’s oldest slums and the largest Dalit colonies in Maharashtra, veteran Ambedkarites prepare for a door-to-door campaign to keep Dalits under one umbrella.
Hiraman Gaikwad, 64, standing near the life-size statue of Ambedkar in the colony, says, “For us, Ambedkar is everything. How can we compromise on his Constitution?” Gaikwad was among 26 people who were injured in the 1997 police firing, in which 10 people were also killed, following protests over the desecration of an Ambedkar statue then.
Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar was once a hub for the Dalit migrants who came to the metropolis in search of livelihoods, starting from the 1960s. Back then, it was a swamp with no roads and electricity. Today, there are pucca houses and well-lit roads criss-crossing the colony, says Shantaram Shukdeo Patole, a cobbler.
A statue of Dr Ambedkar at Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar. (Express)
“I came from Nashik at the age of 18. It’s been 35 years. At that time, even one person’s earnings helped a family of four survive. Now, it is impossible to cope with inflation despite daily earnings of Rs 250,” Patole said. Though the colony has come a long way, a redevelopment project promised in 2005 remains on paper only, says Amol Sonawne, a member of the Panchsheel Kruti Samiti.
Sonawne says that over the years, Dalit karyakartas have multiplied manifold but its leadership has not broadbased. “The followers of Athawale see in him a representative at the Centre. Similarly, there are those affiliated to Prakash Ambedkar, who is the grandson of B R Ambedkar,” he says.
However, Ambedkarite leader Shyam Gaikwad charged that Dalits have realised that “Athawale and Prakash Ambedkar are pursuing politics that goes against Dalit welfare”. “The 2024 Lok Sabha polls will see Dalits collectively standing up for their rights without any leader. The Dalit movement is never imprisoned by individual leaders or partisan politics,” he said.
Chaitya Bhoomi, the memorial to Dr B R Ambedkar in Dadar. (Express) 
Chaitya Bhoomi, where Dr Ambedkar’s last rites were performed after his death in 1956. (Express)
Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, one of the oldest slums in 
A statue of Dr Ambedkar at Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar. (Express)
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