Ambedkar was 'unhappy' with Constitution :Sudershan

Nagpur, June 6: Claiming that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar ''had not even been happy with the Indian constitution'', Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudershan today called for a ''review of the Constitution'', saying it must be changed to meet the present needs of the country.

Speaking at the concluding function of the annual training camp of the RSS here this evening, Mr Sudershan claimed Dr Ambedkar had expressed his ''dissatisfaction'' over the constitution in the Rajya Sabha in September 1953.

According to Mr Sudershan, Dr Ambedkar, considered the father of the constitution, had said: ''I was a hack. I did what I was asked to do. If I had it may way, I would burn it (the constitution), because it will benefit none.'' Dr Ambedkar wanted to make Sanskrit the national language, but was not allowed to do so, the RSS chief claimed.

Mr Sudershan said the constitution was primarily based on the Government of India Act, enacted by the British in 1935 to meet their imperialistic objectives. Therefore, the ''flaws'' in the Act crept into the Indian constitution, although other provisions were added to the statute, he added.

He claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had also opposed the 1935 Government of India Act, saying ''he would burn it if he could''.

''Most of the problems the country faces today, like caste divisions, religious intolerance and violence, have its roots in the constitution. The provisions of the constitution have harmed the country's integrity rather than binding it together,'' Mr Sudershan claimed.

There was nothing wrong in reviewing and even changing the constitution. ''It is not as if the statute cannot be changed.

It has already been amended several times, so most of its original content is lost anyway. Besides, times have changed and the country is facing new challenges,'' he said and cited the example of France that had changed its constitution several times.

Mr Sudershan alleged that foreign powers, especially the US, were behind religious conversions into Christianity in the country, particularly in the Northeast. ''The conversions are posing a great threat to the country's integrity and security,'' he added. When India decided to remain non-aligned and did not join either the capitalist or the communist bloc after the Independence in 1947, the US sent missionaries to the country as part of its ''conspiracy to foment trouble'', Mr Sudershan alleged.

Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (retired) A Y Tipnis, expressed distress that violence had become a means of resolving disputes in the land of Mahatma Gandhi, the epitome of non-violence and peace.

Asserting that the religious intolerance had led to fundamentalism, he said organisations like the RSS could play a major role in restoring the country's integrity.

''The RSS must revise its agenda to include present problems on priority and make efforts to resolve it,'' he added.

UNI